My second conversation with Rabbi Schonfeld

I went over to Rabbi Schonfeld a couple of days ago in shul, and introduced myself.  We mostly reiterated what we had already spoken about.  But I did clarify one point.  He knows that most of the recipients of the chickens are kollel families, not rebbaim.  But it seems that in Rabbi Schonfeld's opinion, the kollel families might not have a legitimate need for support since they have not done their hishtadlus.  But the rebbaim do have a legitimate need for support, since many of them do not get paid for months at a time.  I think that's reasonable.

Rabbi Schonfeld's response

See previous post for my letter.

I was surprised to receive a call from Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld in response to me letter, with Robbie Neuman present.  Rabbi Schonfeld said he agreed with my  letter 1000 percent (yes, one-thousand percent).  He was impressed with my letter and wanted to meet me in person. 
He made the following points: 

1. A lot of the changes that I am suggesting need to be made already happening.  Many more charedim are joining the IDF and getting jobs over the past couple years.  
2. Chickens for Shabbos is not a social service agency, and does not have the resources to implement any of the suggestions I made.
3. Chickens for Shabbos does not condone the practice of men learning in kollel when they cannot support their families.  He claims Chickens for Shabbos only supports rebbaim who have not been paid, not kollel families that are not doing their proper hishtadlus.  I find this very hard to believe that Chickens for Shabbos only supports rebbaim and not kolllel families, but he claims Robbie is told to use the word "melamdim" in his appeals, so that people will know that we're supporting rebbaim, not kollel families.  I still highly doubt that Chickens for Shabbos denies support to kollel families.
4. Chickens for Shabbos is opposed to schools denying admission to families where the husband works.  But it does not seem that Chickens for Shabbos is doing anything about it.

Bottom line- I am looking forward to meeting with Rabbi Schonfeld and trying to impress upon him that maybe we can do more than just provide welfare support.  Maybe we can actually make a difference.

My Letter to Chickens for Shabbos

BS’D

                                                                                                           

April 6, 2011

Mr. Robert Newman

Chickens for Shabbos

70-11 150^th Street

Kew Gardens Hills, NY 11367

Dear Robbie,

I would like to start by expressing how much I admire your work on behalf of Chickens for Shabbos.  It is truly inspiring to see your concern for other members of Klal Yisrael.  Your devotion to this cause on a daily basis is admirable.  It is quite incredible that you continue to make appeal after appeal with such tremendous passion.  Your efforts should be a zechus for Klal Yisrael.

I wanted to express some concerns I have about some issues you bring up in your appeals.  My wife and I consider ourselves to be Charedi Jews, and we care very much about our fellow Charedim, but the situation you describe in Eretz Yisrael is quite troubling.  Certainly it is very noble for young married men to devote their time exclusively to learning Torah, and Kollel is something that we should support in general.  But with the current situation in Eretz Yisrael, it seems that the current system is untenable.  The following are some particular claims you have made that I find particularly disturbing:

1. You have said that the poverty that many kollel families in Eretz Yisrael is so bad that many Kollel family members suffer from physical and emotional illnesses directly due to their poverty.  It is hard to imagine how one could argue that these men should continue learning in Kollel when it causes such suffering.
2. You say that the poverty causes many children of kollel families to go off the derech.  If the purpose of Kollel is to raise a more spiritual family, and yet because of poverty children are going off the derech, then the purpose of kollel is defeated.  The poverty is causing kollel to have the exact opposite of its intended effect.
3. You specifically appeal to help out rebbaim who are struggling.  I wonder how many of these rebbaim are opposed to Charedim getting jobs.  If so, it is hard to have sympathy for these rebbaim, who are doing everything in their power to prevent their talmidim from getting jobs and helping them out.
4. You say that Charedi families should continue to have the large families they are having even though they cannot afford it, because they can just have other people support them.  I would understand if a couple originally thought they could afford a large family, and then a change in their financial condition made it impossible.  But it is hard to understand how a couple could initially decide to have a family that they know is too large for them to support. 
5. You say that if the Charedim stop having large families, the Arabs will outnumber Jews in Israel.  Aside from the fact that statistics show that even under the current conditions Arabs are projected to outnumber Jews in Israel, it is absurd for families to have too many children than they can handle financially and emotionally just to drive up the population.  

I think it is clear that changes need to be made in the Charedi community in Eretz Yisrael, and with the influence we wield through Chickens for Shabbos, we might be able to bring about that change.  I would like to recommend a couple of changes to Chickens for Shabbos to bring about the change. 

My first suggestion is to allocate some of the organization’s finds to promoting Charedi employment, thereby fulfilling the highest level of tzedaka according to the Rambam.  This could be accomplished by funding vocational programs for Charedim, providing career counseling, or by lobbying the Israeli government to remove the barriers Charedim face entering the job world.

My second suggestion is based on the observation that there are leaders of the Charedi community, but not gedolim, who promote the Kollel-only mentality.  These include, among others, rebbaim in yeshivas who are opposed to bachurim seeking employment, and schools that do not accept children from families in which the father works.  I propose that we refuse to support for these rebbaim who are the cause of the problem.  We should have no sympathy for rebbaim who are proactively preventing their community from supporting them. 

There are a couple of teachings from contemporary Chachamim that are relevant to the matter.  One is from Rav Wolbe in his kuntris for chasanim, where he says that a couple should never go into debt in order to stay in kollel.  As soon as a couple sees that they can no longer survive financially with the husband in kollel, the husband should seek employment.

The second is a beautiful piece from the Nesivos Sholom concerning Yakov’s dream about the ladder.  He explains that Yakov was afraid to leave the yeshiva of Shem and Ever to go to Lavan’s house.  He was concerned that his spirituality would be compromised by leaving the yeshiva where he had devoted 14 years of his life.  Hashem’s message to Yakov with the ladder is not to fear this new stage of his life, but instead to embrace the challenge.  The malachim ascending and descending the ladder represent the idea that Yakov would now be faced with spiritual challenges, and he would sometimes ascend in spirituality and sometimes descend.  But as long as he had a “ladder,” meaning the Torah’s framework, to guide him, he could be certain that this was his proper avodas Hashem. 

Indeed, being a frum Jew in the professional world is challenging.  I am currently in law school with many young frum men and women, who span the religious spectrum.  We have our challenges, our aliyos and yeridos, but we all operate within the Torah framework, and we understand this to be our avoda.  The Kew Gardens Hills community is perfect example of a community that lives Yakov’s avoda.  Most husbands have jobs, but are kovea itim and understand that everything in their life, both work and Torah learning, is part of their avodas Hashem. 

The Nesivos Sholom’s teaching seems totally lost on the Charedi community in Eretz Yisrael.  They seem to be unwilling to leave the yeshiva, just like Yakov was unable to leave the yeshiva of Shem and Ever.  It is our responsibility to show them how there are many paths in avodas Hashem, and that they must embrace whatever path Hashem has sent them on.  In the words of Rav Hutner zt’l, we must show them that working and being kovea itim does not have to mean leading a “double life,” but rather a broad life.   

I look forward to hearing your response and starting a dialogue on these issues.  We should continue to be osek b’tzaerchei tzibur be’emuna and the chesed of our community should be a melitz yosher for all of Klal Yisrael and we should be zoche to see the ge’ula bim’heyra beyamenu. 

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    /s/ (personal info redacted)

Kollel Stipend Protest

Tel Aviv Univ. student protest the Kollel stipends.  What would you say if I agreed with the protesters?  Here is the defense of the Kollel stipend.  Apparently, taking away the funding will not get Charedim to work.  As if that argument actually advances their position.  What it basically says is that the Kollel community completely disregards the financial consequences of their lifestyle.  And the government should support that?

Agudah Parenting Seminar

The Agudah had some event on parenting.  Gil Student tweeted excerpts from it here.  My favorite tweet is the following: "Going out into the workplace is very disorienting. Speak to older people and your rabbi."  I agree that going out into the workplace is very disorienting, but it's even more disorienting if you've been told it's assur to do so.  It is much less disorienting if you see what the Nesivos Sholom says on this week's parshah, Vayeitzei, about Yakov leaving the yeshiva of Shem and Ever and entering the house of Lavan.
I also notice that the answer to almost every question included a suggestion to ask your rabbi.  No comment (but lots of thoughts that I'm not ready to share yet).   

Chilul Hashem alert!

Can we be dan this guy lechaf zechus?

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/11/11/2741701/brooklyn-rabbi-convicted-of-extortion

Brooklyn Rabbi Milton Balkany convicted of extortion

November 11, 2010

(JTA) -- Brooklyn Rabbi Milton Balkany, a Jewish day school director and political activist, was convicted in federal court of extortion.
Balkany, 64, was found guilty Wednesday by a jury in U.S. District Court in Manhattan of extortion, blackmail, wire fraud and making false statements.
He was convicted of trying to extort a $4 million donation to his school, Bais Yaakov of Midwood, from billionaire Steven Cohen's SAC Capital, using damaging information he obtained from an inmate at a federal prison where he served as a spiritual adviser.
Balkany will remain under house arrest until his sentencing on Feb. 18. He could face 20 years in prison.
The rabbi has been active in fund raising for Republican politicians and has lobbied in Washington for several causes.
 

The Tznius Police

Watch out!  The tznius police are at it again! 

Click here for the original article
  

Haredi modesty patrol catches violators on camera

Members of Committee for Preserving Sanctity and Education employ professional photographers to document yeshiva students attending 'immodest' cultural events. Images will be passed on to yeshiva heads

Ari Galahar

The next hot item in the haredi fight against immodesty is debuting this summer – professional photographers hired by the Committee for Preserving Sanctity and Education to catch yeshiva students on film at "immodest" concerts. Rabbi Mordechai Baloi, chairman of the committee, recently announced that whoever attends the mixed-gender rock concerts of haredi performers Yakov Sheweky and Avraham Fried may be putting at risk his and his children's chances of being accepted into various yeshiva frameworks. According to Baloi, the committee has arrangements with a number of the show's organizers to hand over pictures taken during the concert because they do not want be in trouble with the rabbis. 1st time offenders given pass "Once, we used to send photographers to the concerts. But now we have officials in the organization who send us pictures of those participating in the events," said Baloi. "Everyone who goes to these concerts knows that he was there. Everyone knew he was there, unless he disguises himself. We will bring this to the attention of the leaders of the educational institutions," explained Baloi. The event managers themselves explained that the concerts are not directed at the haredi public, but are intended for the National Religious crowd. However, Baloi does not accept their claims, and says the fact that the artists are being billed as haredi attracts many haredim to the concerts, even if they are not officially part of the target audience. Not only mixed-gender concerts are being targeted by the Committee for Preserving Sanctity and Education. According to Baloi, the committee sent photographers out on motorbikes on the eve of the World Cup final to document yeshiva students watching the game. "We dispatched three motorcycles with cameras to the streets to pass through restaurants, coffee shops, and bars in the city," elucidated Baloi. "The photographers are not haredim, but are secular professionals." Baloi explained that the committee has no problem with the soccer game itself, but with things surrounding it, such as advertisements. He added that many of the yeshiva students left the venues when they saw the flashes go off. The Committee for Preserving Sanctity and Education explained that they do not usually hand over photographs to the yeshiva heads the first time a student is caught, unless they are specifically asked by the yeshivas with which they are in contact.